| Trump’s lawyers fail to follow through on threats to Comey Posted: 28 Jun 2017 09:52 AM PDT  President Trump's lawyers, after rethinking their legal strategy, have shelved plans for now to file complaints accusing former FBI Director James Comey of leaking confidential information about his conversations with the president, according to two sources familiar with the lawyers' plans. The decision to back away from repeated public threats to launch an all-out legal assault on Comey reflects a significant tactical retreat for Trump's legal team. It was prompted by concerns that such a move might antagonize special counsel Robert Mueller as he investigates Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible ties to Trump's presidential campaign, the sources said.
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| W.Va. Sen. Capito’s difficult journey to ‘no’ Posted: 28 Jun 2017 12:25 PM PDT  Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., announced Tuesday she was against the current version of the Senate GOP health care bill. In an exchange that was filmed by someone else in the room and later posted on Facebook , where it has been viewed more than 5 million times, Hill showed the senator photos of Amy before and after her diagnoses, when she was in the hospital undergoing treatment.
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| Congressman: Healthcare Might Not Be in Trump's 'wheelhouse' Posted: 28 Jun 2017 02:38 AM PDT  Representative Charlie Dent, R-PA, speaks about Republicans attempts to pass Healthcare legislation and he believes that the work should be from the center out.
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| California sheriff deputy mending from gunshot wound to face Posted: 28 Jun 2017 07:00 PM PDT  SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Alex Ladwig, a 25-year-old Sacramento County sheriff's deputy, was working an evening rush-hour shift at a transit station when, without warning, he found himself fighting for his life.
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| Home Invader Crawls Into Woman's Bed to Ask If He Can Stay the Night: Cops Posted: 29 Jun 2017 10:00 AM PDT  A woman in New Jersey may have been visited by a serial stalker, cops say.
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| British police officer tells how he took on London Bridge attackers Posted: 28 Jun 2017 11:22 AM PDT  A police officer who tried to stop three militants as they attacked people on London Bridge earlier this month described on Wednesday how he took on the men armed with just his baton despite being repeatedly stabbed and temporarily blinded. The three attackers rammed a hired van into pedestrians on the bridge late on June 3 before going on the rampage through the bustling Borough Market area, where they slit throats and stabbed people, killing eight. Police Constable Wayne Marques said he had heard screams coming from London Bridge and when he went to investigate saw people being attacked.
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| Ex-boss of Venezuela president mourns son killed in unrest Posted: 28 Jun 2017 06:57 PM PDT  Among many people mourning the death of a child in street protests against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro is his former boss, from back when the president was a bus driver. The mourner is David Vallenilla, whose son David died last Thursday when he was hit with buck shot fired by a soldier at point blank range. Vallenilla says he has been told Maduro the president will call him.
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| NASA finds signs of ancient 'Niagara Falls' of lava on Mars Posted: 28 Jun 2017 03:52 PM PDT  Sure, NASA has found signs of ancient water on Mars multiple times over the years, but now it's time to talk about something that's significantly more badass: molten Martian lava. NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has taken photos of a part of the red planet that once played host to huge multi-tiered falls of lava that cascaded into a crater. SEE ALSO: NASA's Curiosity rover has a pet rock on Mars The images even show off the (now dried) circular flow of lava at the base of the falls, where the molten rock fanned outward on the crater's floor, NASA said. "The lava flows and falls are distinct as they are rougher than the original features that are smooth and knobby," NASA said in a statement, referring to the features as the "Niagara Falls of Mars." A 3D view of the lava flow.Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona"In a close-up image the rough-textured lava flow to the north has breached the crater wall at a narrow point, where it then cascades downwards, fanning out and draping the steeper slopes of the wall in the process." This isn't the first evidence of lava on Mars. Researchers have also theorized that there were once channels of lava on Mars, and even lava tubes on the red planet, shaping its geology. The MRO has taken thousands of pictures of Mars over the years, revealing features on the surface of the red planet as never before. The orbiter even caught sight of other robots exploring the world below. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of ArizonaNASA and other space agencies are particularly interested in studying Mars because it might hold their best chance of finding signs of past life in our solar system outside of Earth. By studying Mars' past, we may be able to learn a little bit more about our own place in the cosmic neighborhood. WATCH: What it was like to pretend to live on Mars inside a dome for a year
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| Veterans need Medicaid too — and are speaking out against GOP health care bill Posted: 28 Jun 2017 05:59 PM PDT  For Kelly Gregory, serving in the U.S. military has been a long-standing family tradition. "I want to be the last American that dies because I didn't have access to health care," said Gregory. Gregory, 48, has stage IV breast cancer.
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| Sharks Caught On Video Swimming Up To Florida Tourists Posted: 28 Jun 2017 01:41 PM PDT  The woman who took the video said there were at least seven sharks in the shallow water.
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| Girl, 4, Fatally Struck by Houseboat, Father's Legs Severed as He Tried to Save Her: Cops Posted: 29 Jun 2017 09:10 AM PDT  The boat driver has been charged with criminally negligent homicide in connection with the girl's death.
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| Yes he can: Obama returns to Indonesia for family vacation Posted: 28 Jun 2017 10:46 AM PDT  By Jessica Damiana JAKARTA (Reuters) - From white water rafting in Bali to visiting temples on Java, former U.S. President Barack Obama's private family holiday is being closely tracked in Indonesia where he spent four years as a child. Obama was six when he moved to Jakarta after his American mother, Ann Dunham, married an Indonesian man following the end of her marriage to Obama's Kenyan father. "I feel proud that my friend became a president," said Sonni Gondokusumo, 56, a former classmate of Obama at the Menteng 01 state elementary school in Jakarta.
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| Nemtsov trial: jury finds all five accused guilty over murder of Kremlin foe Posted: 29 Jun 2017 07:34 AM PDT  A Russian jury on Thursday found all five defendants guilty of organising and carrying out the contract killing of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov after a trial his allies say failed to unmask the masterminds. Former deputy prime minister Nemtsov, a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin, was gunned down just yards from the Kremlin as he walked home with his girlfriend late on the evening of February 27, 2015. The brazen murder in central Moscow was the most high-profile political killing in Russia since Putin rose to power some 17 years ago.
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| Wildfires in Arizona, California, Utah force hundreds from their homes Posted: 28 Jun 2017 09:46 AM PDT ![Wildfires in Arizona, California, Utah force hundreds from their homes]( "Wildfires in Arizona, California, Utah force hundreds from their homes") Firefighters in three western states are facing major summer wildfires, one in an area where 19 firefighters were killed four years ago.
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| An ancient 'skull cult' might've carved up bones to shame their enemies Posted: 28 Jun 2017 12:03 PM PDT  An ancient "skull cult" might've existed thousands of years ago in present-day Turkey. Three deeply carved skulls found at the Göbekli Tepe archaeological site suggest that humans disfigured the bones as part of a ritual, perhaps to venerate the dead or absorb the powers of fallen enemies, a team of German anthropologists reported this week in a new study. SEE ALSO: Cats have been getting humans to do their bidding for 9,000 years Skull cults were common during the Neolithic period, which began around 10,000 B.C. Other digs worldwide have uncovered skulls covered in paint or plaster, or bearing intricate designs. In some modern Pacific Island cultures, skulls still represent a link between the living and the dead. Details of artificial skull modifications. A, C, D: carvings, B: drilled perforation.Image: Julia Gresky, DAIHowever, the ancient bones from Turkey are unique among the Neolithic skull cults. These are the first from their era to display a crude, practical-looking marking, according to the study published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances. The three skulls had multiple deep incisions along their midlines that were likely carved with a flint tool. Scientists ruled out natural causes for the markings, such as an animal gnawing at the bones, by using microscopic techniques. One skull also had a hole drilled into the left parietal bone, which forms the sides and roof of the cranium. Skull fragments with cut marks.Image: German Archaeological Institute Frontal bone fragment of skull 3 with carvings (1) and cut marks (2,3).Image: Julia Gresky, Juliane Haelm, DAI Unlike the more stylized or beautified skulls found at other sites, "Our skulls are not very nicely done. It doesn't look very decorative," Julia Gresky, the study's lead author and an anthropologist from the German Archaeological Institute (DAI), said by phone from Berlin. Excavations at Göbekli Tepe began in 1995. Gresky arrived at the dig site in 2009 after multiple human bone fragments were found. She found the last of three skulls in 2014 and began studying the markings closely with colleagues. Anthropomorphic depictions from Göbekli Tepe. (A) Intentionally decapitated human statue. (B) The gift bearer holds in his hands a human head. (C) Pillar 43 with low relief of an ithyphallic headless individual, one arm raised.Image: Dieter Johannes and Klaus Schmidt, Göbekli Tepe Archive, DAIWhile it's impossible to know what really happened at the Neolithic site, she said, the markings indicate the skulls were put on display. Perhaps the midline grooves or drilled hole helped stabilize the skulls. "The skull seems to have been very important for these [Neolithic] people," Gresky said. The lack of artistic flourish also suggests these scratchings were meant to stigmatize the person to whom the skull once belonged — making these trophies of enemies, not altars to ancestors. WATCH: Ancient Swedish herding call seems to put cows in a trance
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| French air force commander under investigation for allegedly using fighter jet to fly to Provence home Posted: 28 Jun 2017 09:15 AM PDT  French air force commander under investigation for allegedly using fighter jet to fly to Provence home
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| 2017 Ford Mustang Posted: 28 Jun 2017 12:00 PM PDT  Lying low before the new face arrives for 2018.
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| Parents Of Teen Whose Murderer Took A ‘Selfie’ With Victim Break Silence Posted: 28 Jun 2017 11:33 AM PDT  The parents of a Pennsylvania teen who had his murder captured in a 'selfie' spoke out for the first time since their son's death Wednesday.
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| U.S. targets Chinese bank, company, two individuals over North Korea Posted: 29 Jun 2017 03:04 PM PDT  By Joel Schectman and David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on two Chinese citizens and a shipping company for helping North Korea's nuclear and missile programs and accused a Chinese bank of laundering money for Pyongyang. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said at a press conference that the actions were designed to cut off funds that North Korea uses to build its weapons program. A Treasury statement named the bank as the Bank of Dandong and the firm as Dalian Global Unity Shipping Co Ltd. It named the two individuals as Sun Wei and Li Hong Ri.
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| Pope Francis injects new blood into cardinals club Posted: 28 Jun 2017 09:42 AM PDT  Pope Francis on Wednesday created five new cardinals in a colourful ritual ceremony at the Vatican that blended centuries of tradition with the Argentine pontiff's vision of a remodelled Church for the 21st century. Four of the five new cardinals come from countries that have never had a cardinal before: El Salvador, Laos, Mali and Sweden. In a hard-hitting homily, Francis told them they should regard themselves as servants of the most vulnerable and not be misled by the traditional description of cardinals as 'Princes of the Church'.
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| Through darkness to light: Photographs along the Underground Railroad Posted: 29 Jun 2017 11:08 AM PDT ![Through darkness to light: Photographs along the Underground Railroad]( "Through darkness to light: Photographs along the Underground Railroad") Through Darkness to Light: Photographs Along the Underground Railroad," a traveling exhibition by photographer Jeanine Michna-Bales presents a remarkable series of images taken in the dead of night that reveal historical sites, cities and places that freedom-seekers passed through, including homes of abolitionists who offered them sanctuary.
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| 2020 deadline to avert climate catastrophe: experts Posted: 28 Jun 2017 11:54 AM PDT  Humanity must put carbon dioxide emissions on a downward slope by 2020 to have a realistic shot at capping global warming at well under two degrees Celsius, the bedrock goal of the Paris climate accord, experts said Wednesday. With 1.0 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming so far, ice sheets that could lift oceans by a dozen metres are melting more quickly, coral reefs are dying from heat stress, and ever more damaging storm surges are hammering coastal communities. The transition to cleaner energy sources is well underway and is backed by broad consensus on the need to beat back the threat of climate change -- with the notable exception of the United States under President Donald Trump.
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| Board rejects Puerto Rico budget because of overspending Posted: 27 Jun 2017 07:52 PM PDT ![Board rejects Puerto Rico budget because of overspending]( "Board rejects Puerto Rico budget because of overspending") SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A federal control board overseeing Puerto Rico's finances rejected the U.S. territory's proposed budget on Tuesday because it said it lacks at least $200 million in specific cost-saving measures and contains nearly $120 million in overspending and ineligible expenditures.
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| Internet tax is real and I have been paying it for years, by Jeff Bezos Posted: 29 Jun 2017 09:16 AM PDT  Hello, this is the CEO of Amazon/owner of The Washington Post Jeff Bezos. At around 9:00 a.m. on June 28, President Trump tweeted the following: The #AmazonWashingtonPost, sometimes referred to as the guardian of Amazon not paying internet taxes (which they should) is FAKE NEWS! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 28, 2017 Aside from the obvious inaccuracies in the president's tweet — Amazon doesn't own The Washington Post (I do), the Post isn't "the guardian of Amazon," and it isn't fake news — there's one massive, glaring issue that I take with the message. Contrary to what Mr. Trump says, I do pay internet tax, and I have done so for several years. SEE ALSO: I have drawn the Trump administration as Sonic the Hedgehog and I am ready to answer for it For as long as I can remember, I have been paying my annual internet tax in the form of a personal check written out to the IRS. Each calendar year, I pull out my checkbook, write out a check for however many millions of dollars in internet tax I owe, put "tax for internet" in the memo and ship it first class in an envelope that says "government" on the front. Read it and weep, idiot.Image: mashable composite; shutterstockThat's right, Mr. Trump. The joke is on you, because I have been sending internet tax to the federal government for YEARS. I do my part to help this country. Can you say the same? You may be thinking, "Jeff, what is internet tax and how do you calculate how much you owe?" A good question, with a simple answer. Internet tax is a tax for the internet — a contribution people make to continue using the world wide web. I learned about it on a weight lifting forum in 1999, back before anyone realized you could lie online. Internet tax is calculated pretty easily: each time you click the button on the mouse, you owe one dollar. Being a pretty prolific internet user, I pay an assistant $150,000 a year to live with me and count my clicks, and then I write out a check to the tax man. As you can see above, this year I clicked the mouse 28 million times. Yikes! Put it here like this so they'll see.Image: mashable composite; shutterstockMake no mistake: Internet tax is not the same thing as your internet bill. One is a bill, the other is a tax. They are different things. That being said, I would like to make it abundantly clear that if you have not been paying internet tax for as long as you have had the internet, you are breaking the law and will be arrested. Of course, if internet tax were as simple as I've made it out to be, we wouldn't all groan every time tax season rolls around, ha ha. Another more complicated part of the internet tax is that each year, about three weeks after sending the IRS your check, you will receive a call from the government informing you that they cannot accept your payment. They will tell you that you, "Do not owe this money," and there "Is not a tax on using the internet, it doesn't even make sense," and to "Please stop wasting government time by sending these enormous sums of money to our office." Whenever that happens, I simply continue sending checks to the IRS until they cash them. Merely another element in the cat and mouse game of internet tax. You know, sometimes, when I'm walking around in the big Amazon warehouse where I live with my whole extended family, I start to wonder if it's all worth it. Spending so much of my money, each and every year, on internet tax — is the internet worth the trouble? Then, I open my computer and log onto Twitter dot com, and see another insanely bad tweet from the 45th President of the United States. And I think to myself: yes. It's all worth it. Thanks for reading Mashable Humor: original comedy every day. Or most days. We're people, just like you, and we're trying our best.
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| Starbucks Worker Mysteriously Vanishes While Taking a Break Posted: 28 Jun 2017 02:40 PM PDT  Allison Cope, 24, a Starbucks supervisor, took her scheduled break at about 3 p.m. She hasn't been seen or heard from since.
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| Tillerson Lashes Out At White House Aide Johnny DeStefano: Report Posted: 29 Jun 2017 01:43 AM PDT  The episode left other officials stunned and prompted senior White House aide Jared Kushner to call the outburst unprofessional, the report added.
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| Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE: First Drive Posted: 29 Jun 2017 07:44 AM PDT  It's serious so you can have all the fun.
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| Taking Too Much of This Vitamin Can Cause Serious Health Issues Posted: 28 Jun 2017 10:39 AM PDT  Within the past two decades, there has been an increase in research pointing to the health benefits of vitamin D, and as a result more people than ever are taking supplements. However, a study published in the June 2017 issue of JAMA says that some people are taking way more than they need too. Researchers found that 18.2 percent of Americans ingest more than 1000 IU – which is 400 IU more than the recommended daily amount (RDA) for people ...
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| NASA created glowing, artificial auroras that looked a whole lot like UFOs Posted: 29 Jun 2017 08:16 AM PDT  After many delays that disappointed space fans around the U.S., NASA finally managed to launch its mission early Thursday to, for the first time, create ephemeral, glowing clouds. In other words, NASA created human-caused auroras, of sorts. The suborbital sounding rocket took flight at 4:25 a.m. ET Thursday from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia and released its payload — which consisted of 10 vapor-filled canisters — shortly afterwards. SEE ALSO: Here's why NASA keeps postponing its really cool mission to make glowing clouds Once at altitude, those canisters produced green-blue and red artificial clouds that should allow scientists to learn more about how particles move through space. The wait is over! The Terrier-Improved Malemute launched this morning, June 29, at 4:25 a.m. An early Independence Day fireworks display!! pic.twitter.com/Y5x6Oz2hu8 — NASA Wallops (@NASA_Wallops) June 29, 2017 The artificial auroras were seen by skywatchers up and down the East Coast of the United States. "Wallops received nearly 2,000 reports and photos of the cloud sightings from areas as far north as New York, south to North Carolina, and inland throughout Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and points in-between," NASA said in a statement. If you were out for an early morning stroll and happened to look up as the artificial clouds were created, you could probably be forgiven for thinking that you actually spotted a UFO. The bright clouds created by this mission look somewhat eerie in video footage. The blinking auroras started off as a bright blue-green color and then fade to a deeper hue of blue in the sky. It took NASA 11 launch attempts to get this mission off the ground, in part because of strict weather requirements. Mission controllers needed totally clear skies for this launch in order to be assured that they would see the colorful vapor when it was released from the canisters. And luckily, they got it on Thursday. Finally. WATCH: NASA just made a very important step toward getting humans to Mars
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| Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong detained by police Posted: 28 Jun 2017 06:09 AM PDT  Hong Kong student pro-democracy campaigner Joshua Wong was detained by police on Wednesday after an anti-China protest ahead of a visit by President Xi Jinping. Wong was among at least 20 protesters who had staged a three-hour sit-in at a harbourfront statue and were led away into police vans. Xi's visit this week marks 20 years since Hong Kong was handed back to China by Britain and comes at a time when fears are growing that Beijing is tightening its grip on the semi-autonomous city.
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| Australian police charge Vatican cardinal with sex offenses Posted: 28 Jun 2017 05:40 PM PDT  SYDNEY (AP) — Australian police charged a top Vatican cardinal on Thursday with multiple counts of historical sexual assault offenses, a stunning decision certain to rock the highest levels of the Holy See.
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| 2019 Ram 1500: More Mega Cab? Posted: 29 Jun 2017 09:00 AM PDT  More space, more refinement.
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| Would-Be Robber Scared Away By Quick-Thinking Store Clerk Who Scares Him With Pipe Posted: 29 Jun 2017 12:41 PM PDT  Police are searching for a would-be robber who met his match when he tried to hold up a store clerk in Texas.
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| Qatar working with U.S., Kuwaitis on response to Gulf demands: minister Posted: 29 Jun 2017 02:35 PM PDT  DOHA/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Qatar said on Thursday it was working with the United States and Kuwait to respond to a list of demands presented by Arab states who have accused Doha of supporting terrorism, an allegation that ignited a regional crisis between the U.S. allies. The feud erupted on June 5 when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic and travel links with Qatar, accusing it also of courting regional foe Iran.
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| Man Catches Shark With Bare Hands Posted: 29 Jun 2017 09:35 AM PDT  He is shown jumping into the water, grabbing the shark with his bare hands and throwing it onto the dock.
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| Trump trashes media, cheers wins at $10 million fundraiser Posted: 29 Jun 2017 02:30 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican donors paid $35,000 apiece to hear familiar a message from President Donald Trump: The media, particularly CNN, keep trying to take him down, and yet Republicans just keep on winning elections. He noted with pride that his party had won four special elections this year.
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| The iPhone is no longer the fastest phone in the world Posted: 28 Jun 2017 06:43 AM PDT 
A new type of smartphone face-off has become increasingly popular over the past couple years. In an effort to measure real-world performance, YouTube vloggers have devised an unscientific test that compares the speeds of two phones. In a nutshell, they have a preset list of apps that they open in succession once to see how quickly a smartphone loads the apps. Then, they open all the apps again in the same order to see how quickly a smartphone can recall them from memory. Ever since this new breed of smartphone speed tests emerged, one line of devices has been unbeatable. Despite seemingly never quite measuring up on paper in terms of specs, Apple's iPhones continued to trounce any and all Android comers. But now, for the first time ever, an Android phone has finally topped Apple's latest iPhone to steal the crown and become the fastest phone in the world. We typically try not to spoil the ending when we post about these real-world speed tests, though in the past the ending has always been obvious. Regardless of which new Android flagship phone faces off with the iPhone, it always ends up getting embarrassed. In fact, we've even seen brand new Android powerhouses lose to previous-generation iPhone models in the past. On Tuesday evening, however, the unthinkable finally happened. Apple's latest iPhone model, the iPhone 7 Plus, was pitted against the just-released OnePlus 5 in one of these real world speed tests. The race was a close one. While the iPhone 7 Plus was able to win the first "lap," albeit narrowly, the OnePlus 5 and its whopping 8GB of RAM blew past Apple's iPhone while recalling apps from memory in the second lap. In the end, the OnePlus 5 took the crown. It might be considered a cruel twist of fate that the Android phone to finally supplant Apple's iPhone as the world's fastest phone is a handset that copied the iPhone 7 Plus so blatantly, both inside and out. We suppose that's just the way the cookie crumbles. The full speed test video is embedded below.
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| Italy threatens to shut ports to foreign boats saving migrants Posted: 28 Jun 2017 10:25 AM PDT  Italy has threatened to prevent vessels flying under foreign flags from disembarking migrants rescued in the Mediterranean in its ports, a source close to the government said Wednesday. "We can't go on like this," the source told AFP after media reported that Italy's representative to the European Union, Maurizio Massari, delivered a letter to the bloc warning that the country was considering closing its doors. Massari is said to have met the European Commissioner for Immigration, Dimitri Avramopoulos, to insist that the latest wave of people saved from rickety vessels in the Mediterranean had meant "the situation has become unsustainable".
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| Indian IT firm Wipro touts U.S. jobs amid visa uncertainty Posted: 28 Jun 2017 09:31 AM PDT  Wipro Ltd , India's third-largest software services exporter, said on Wednesday that more than half its workforce in the United States consists of locals after it hired more than 1,600 people in the last six months. The statement comes as U.S. President Donald Trump has asked federal agencies to review a visa program that Indian IT firms such as Wipro use to fly engineers to the United States to service clients. Wipro rival Infosys Ltd last month said it planned to hire 10,000 U.S. workers in the next two years and open four technology centers in the United States.
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| 11 Best Fourth of July Sales for 2017 Posted: 28 Jun 2017 07:55 AM PDT ![11 Best Fourth of July Sales for 2017]( "11 Best Fourth of July Sales for 2017") Though more often associated with fireworks, flags and franks, the Fourth of July holiday is also characterized by exceptional sales for shoppers.
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